For the 14th consecutive year, Germany led the list of top filers, followed by France, and the US. China was the country most designated in international trademark applications, reflecting increasing levels of trading activity by foreign companies in China.
“Increasingly, the business community is recognising the advantages of the Madrid system as an efficient way to obtain trademark protection in multiple countries. This is borne out by the healthy growth rates enjoyed by the system in recent years”, said Kamil Idris, Director General of WIPO.
German-based companies accounted for 6,552 applications, or 18.0 per cent of the total. These were followed by French-based companies, which accounted for 3,896 applications, or 10.7 per cent. After only three years as a member of the Madrid system, the US ranked third with 3,148, or 8.6 per cent of the total.
A number of developing countries witnessed significant growth in international trademark filings in 2006, in particular the Republic of Korea with 190 applications, up by 28.4 per cent; Singapore with 161 applications, up 16.7 per cent; and Morocco with 119 applications, up 80.3 per cent.
The 25 countries of the European Union together accounted for 23,916 applications in 2006.
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